Costa Rica lodge owners rescue soggy baby sloth from beach rocks

Jan. 18 (UPI) -- A couple walking along a Costa Rica beach ended up rescuing a baby sloth found stranded on some rocks after apparently being carried by the surf.

Dirk and Lori Morgan, Ohio natives and owners of Morgans Jungle Lodge in Puerto Jimenez, captured video of the two-toed sloth they found clinging to rocks on an Osa Peninsula beach.

The Morgans said the sloth had apparently clung to the rocks to avoid being carried out to sea by the high tide.

The couple posted photos to Facebook showing Dirk Morgan carefully lifting the animal and putting it in a box for transport to an animal rescue center.

The Morgans recorded video of their initial encounter with the baby, which squealed in apparent distress when they came close.

The couple said there were no adult sloths to be seen and two loose dogs were showing interest in the baby.

"We own an eco lodge in a remote section of Costa Rica," the couple wrote online.

"Our guest told us of a baby sloth that they saw about a half mile down the beach on the rocks still alive. We ran down to find it before it died and scared off a couple of dogs who were about to run up on it. We found the rare, young, 2-toe sloth that survived the high tide and a storm overnight. It was wet with salt water and had sand in its eyes. It appeared tired and scared and began to cry out to us as we approached. With no adult sloths in site we carefully placed him in a box with a towel then took him back to the lodge and rinsed the salt water off its face. We then took the baby sloth to the animal rescue center at Tranquility just down the road. He seemed to be fine and happy to be dried off and safe."